Warts, tissues and all

Missing Pieces Tuesdays, 8pm, TV3. Reviewed by Victoria Guild.

If you need an excuse to get the tissues out, look no further than Missing Pieces.

Stories about people reuniting with long-lost relatives are often touching, even more so when it's children meeting a parent or sibling they thought they'd never see again.

This week the show helped Cortney Brooks find her two American half brothers, brothers she lost contact with after her father committed suicide when she was four. She had moved to New Zealand with her mother but had spoken to him on the phone two days before he died.

Twenty-five-year-old Cortney told us how her dad was a cowboy and in the last phone call he called her "daddy's little princess".

She spent most of her time on camera in tears as she recounted trying to track her brothers down.

Using an online search engine called Intelius, the team of Missing Pieces investigators found Sean and Dewayne in New Mexico and flew over to meet them. Sean had left town but Dewayne showed up.

Cortney said the moment she saw Dewayne was magic and he described it as the best day of his life.

Cheyenne West lives in Adelaide with her mum and wanted to find her dad, Shane Sumner, whom her mum had met in Mosgiel, near Dunedin. The couple had gone to Adelaide with baby Cheyenne to escape a gang lifestyle, but he had been unable to stay clean and they had broken up.

When Missing Pieces found him, he was back in Mosgiel looking the worse for wear. There's no doubt Shane had been a hard man. Heroin had ruled his life and he had cleaned up his act only after waking up one day to find his mate dead next to him.

Despite that, his response to seeing the video diary of his daughter showed there is nothing like the bond a parent has with their child. He was desperate to see her and the reunion at Dunedin Railway Station was charged with emotion.

Cheyenne, who hasn't had much to cheer about in her life, said after meeting him she felt "happy" like it was a new emotion for her.

It could be seen as invasive having the cameras there for a very private moment, but for most of the people taking part, that moment wouldn't have arrived without the show's help. Yes, there are lots of tears and long silences as people grapple with their emotions, but the stories are told warts-and-all and are more moving because of it.

- © Fairfax NZ News